Counter

ABSTRACT

A flat, substantially circular case houses a first rotary dial of comparatively large diameter, which is substantially in the form of a ratchet wheel, and a second rotary dial of comparatively small diameter which has a gear portion formed coaxially on its back surface. The first rotary dial is rotated by means of a click secured at one end to a partly exposed push button and engaged at the other end with the teeth formed on the periphery of the first rotary dial. The second rotary dial is actuated intermittently by the first rotary dial through gearing in order to register the number counted by each complete rotation of the latter. An indication made combinedly by the numerals marked on these first and second rotary dials can be observed through a window formed in the case.

United States Patent Furuoka 1 1 Jan.30,1973

541 COUNTER 1,657,828 1 1928 Henderson ..235 91Rx 3,428,324 2/1969Weisbecker.... ....23s 122x [75] Invent HdmFurmkaTokyoJapan 3,312,3954/1967 Nara ..235/114 :Gkk C.Ltd.Tk ,J [73] Assgnee a FORElGNPATENTSORAPPLICATIONS [22] Filed: April29, 1971 650,902 10/1928 France..235 78 [21] App1.N0.Zl38,452 92,435 1/1922 Switzerland ..235/78Primary ExaminerRichard B. Wilkinson 1211 11171 15 iii/T36 56 21 /6;499mmExam/P89111945-W41 [58] Fie1d 61 Search ....235/114, 122, 117 A, 113, 78, AmmePlrvmg Weme References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Nelson..235/116 Baldwin ..235/78 Bromage ..235/114 Vethe ..235/140 Edsall......235/117 A Oran ..235/144 M X Fieldsm, ..235/114 Fields ..235/114 Solonet al ..235/116 Neumann,Jr... ..235/114 Brewer ..235/42 Johnson.........235/91 R X Clifford ..235/114 X Johnson ..235/114 X [57] ABSTRACT Aflat, substantially circular case houses a first rotary dial ofcomparatively large diameter, which is substantially in the form of aratchet wheel, and a second rotary dial of comparatively small diameterwhich has a gear portion formed coaxially on its back surface. The firstrotary dial is rotated by means of a click secured at one end to apartly exposed push button and engaged at the other end with the teethformed on the periphery of the first rotary dial. The second rotary dialis actuated intermittently by the first rotary dial through gearing inorder to register the number counted by each complete rotation of thelatter. An indication made combinedly by the numerals marked on thesefirst and second rotary dials can be observed through a window formed inthe case.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEUmao I975 3.713.582

SHEEI 2 0F 3 INVENTOR.

INVENTOR. I

PATENTEDJMI 30 1913 SHEET 3 111 3 138a 1 F /G.6 g

COUNTER This invention relates generally to counters, and morespecifically to a novel one-hand-operable counter for use in manuallycounting various objects, which may be either mobile or stationary, orrepetitions of a particular operation or phenomenon. For example, it maybe utilized for ascertaining a volume of traffic (by counting vehiclespassing a particular point of a street per unit length of time), fordetecting a degree of congestion in various means of public conveyance(by counting the passengers as they go on board), or for counting theattendance at a public performance. Applications of such a manualcounter are innumerable.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel counterwhich is simple, inexpensive, small in size, light in weight, and easyto use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a counter which isoperable by one hand and which is so shaped as to permit a firm andeffortless grip for prolonged use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a counter which operatesunfailingly by simple manual depression of a push button.

Another object of the invention is to provide a counter wherein each onehundred, for example, counted by means of a first rotary dial is readilyregistered on a second rotary dial associated therewith through a simplemechanism, so that up to several thousand objects or repetitions arecountable without interruption.

A further object of the invention is to provide a counter which isequipped with simplified means for resetting its dials to zero.

A further still object of the invention is to provide a counter whereintwo or more separately actuable dials are installed in parallelarrangement in a case thereby allowing a simultaneous counting of two ormore different sorts of objects.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the presentinvention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode ofoperation, together with the additional objects and advantages thereof,will be best understood from the following detailed description of somespecific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of one form of counter constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the inner details of thecounter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the plane indicated by theline Y Y of FIG. 1 (the line X X in FIG. 3 indicating a plane on whichFIG. 2 is taken);

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the counter of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partly broken away front elevational view of another form ofcounter constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a partly broken away edge view in elevation of the counter ofFIG. 5.

Referring now generally to FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4 in order to describe afirst preferred embodiment of the present invention illustrated therein,the reference numeral 10 indicates a flat, substantially circular casewhich is comprised of two identically shaped halves 11 and 12 and whichmay be made of plastics or other suitable materials. On one side of thecase 10 there is formed a semicircular opening 13 therethrough of a sizelarge enough to receive all the fingers but the thumb of a users hand. Atangentially projecting portion 15 is formed at that part of theperiphery of the case 10 which is located on an extension of a straightedge 14 of the semicircular opening 13, the portion 15 having a hole 15aopened in the tangential direction and defining a hollow space 16therewithin in communication with the other portions of the interior ofthe case 10 as illustrated most apparently in FIGS. 2 and 4.

On the inner surface of one of the case halves, 12, there is formed aninner wall 17 concentrically with the semicircle drawn by the aforesaidopening 13. Further, concentrically with this inner wall 17, an outerwall 18 is provided which extends along the circumferential edge of thecase half 12. An annular chamber 19 is thus defined between the innerwall 17 and the outer wall 18, the annular chamber 19 being incommunication through an aperture 21 of the inner wall 17 with asemicircular chamber 20. An opening 22 is formed at an appropriate partof the outer wall 18 for the purpose of zero resetting still to bedescribed in detail.

There is installed in the annular chamber 19 a first rotary annular dial23 which, as illustrated most clearly in FIG. 4, which may be graduatedwith numerals 24 from 0 to 99 at equal spacings. The annular dial 23 issubstantially in the form of va toothed ratchet wheel, having teeth 25on its periphery whose pitch is equal to the spacing of the numerals 24marked on the annular dial 23. A flange 26 (see FIG. 3) is formedcircumferentially at the back of this annular dial 23 (the aforesaidteeth 25 are formed on this flange 26). On the inner surface of thisflange 26 there is formed a projection or a detent 27 at a positioncorresponding to that of the numeral 0 on the dial 23.

Within the semicircular chamber 20, on the other hand, there is provideda second rotary or circular dial 28 which has an integral gear portion29 at its back and which also has an integral shaft 28a (see FIG. 4)rotatably supported in a bore formed in a projection 30 that may bemolded in one piece with the case 10. This circular dial 28 may hegraduated with equally spacedapart numerals 31 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) from0 to 2,900, for example, at one-hundred intervals, like 0, 100, 200 andso forth. The pitch of the teeth formed on the periphery of theaforesaid gear portion 29 of the circular dial 28 is equal to thespacing of these numerals 31. A pinion 32 is positioned at the aperture21 of the inner wall 17, or between the gear portion 29 of the circulardial 28 and the flange 26 of the annular dial 23 so as to be in meshwith the gear portion 29 and to be engaged by the detent 27 of theannular dial 23. Thus the pinion 32 will impart an intermittent motionsupplied by the annular dial 23 to the circular dial 28. The idling ofthis circular dial 28 is prevented by means of a flat spring 33 whoseV-shaped head is kept in engagement with the teeth of the gear portion29.

As illustrated most apparently in FIG. 4, the other case half 11 isprovided with a wall or rim 34 extending along the outer boundarythereof, which, when the case halves 11 and 12 are combined as in FIG.3, covers the outer wall 18 of the latter. An opening 22a is formed atthe part of this rim 34 which corresponds to the aforesaid opening 22 ofthe outer wall 18. A suitably large window opening 35 (see FIGS. 1 and4) is formed through that portion of the case half 11 which correspondsin location to the aperture 21 of the inner wall 17, where the circulardial 28 comes closest to the annular dial 23. By the side of this window35 there is a bore 36 through which the integral shaft 28a of thecircular dial 28 projects outwardly, and a knob 37 is secured at theoutwardly projecting end of the shaft 28a thereby to reset the circulardial 28 to zero as desired.

Within the aforementioned hollow space 16 defined by the tangentiallyprojecting portion 15 there is installed a push button 38 having one end38a, which is made larger in cross sectional size, projecting outwardlythrough the hole 15a. This push button 38 has a slot 38b extendinglongitudinally therein, the slot 38b engaging a projection 39 formed onthe inner surface of the case half 12 thereby to regulate the motion ofthe push button 38. A helical spring 40 is housed within the slot 38b insuch a manner that one of its ends abuts on the projection 39. Hence thepush button 38 is kept energized in the direction arrow-marked in FIG.2. The inner end of the push button 38 is securely provided with a click41 whose tip is self-energized, as it were, toward the teeth 25 of theannular dial 23 so as to remain in engagement therewith. The backwardrotation of this annular dial 23 is prevented by means of a stop 42which may be served by a suitably shaped flat spring.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, indexes 43 and 44 may be marked at bothsides of the above mentioned window 35 to point to the exact numeralsfor a reading.

For use the case 10 is held by the users hand in such a manner that thethumb is placed on the push button end 38a while the other four fingersmay be inserted into the opening 13. The push button 38 thus depressedrepeatedly by the thumb against the force of the spring 40 will causethe teeth 25 of the annular dial 23 to advance one by one via the click41. The number of times the push button 38 is depressed is exhibited atthe window 35.

The annular dial 23 makes one complete rotation for each one hundreddepressions of the push button 38, when the detent 27 formed beneath thenumeral on the annular dial 23 engages and turns the pinion 32 to such adegree as to advance the circular dial 28 by one graduation, therelative pitches and relative numbers of the teeth on the pinion 32 andthose on the gear portion 29 being predetermined accordingly. In thismanner, up to 3,000 objects are countable without interruption in thisparticular embodiment of the invention. When more than I00 objects havebeen counted, the number pointed by the index 44 and that by the index43 are to be added together to ascertain the correct reading.

The annular dial 23 can be reset to zero by manually moving its exposedteeth in the arrow marked direction in FIG. 2 through the opening 22 ofthe case 10, while the circular dial 28 is zeroed by manually turningthe knob 37.

FIGS. and 6 illustrate another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention which is suitable for applications where two different sortsof objects, such as men and women, or people and vehicles along astreet, have to be counted separately. Essentially, this secondpreferred embodiment is a combination of two identical countersconstructed in substantial accordance with the first preferredembodiment described hereinbefore.

As seen in FIG. 6, a case houses two annular dials 123 and 123' whichare separated from one another by means of a partition 101 and which areto be actuated independently. These annular dials 123 and 123' areprovided with rims 126 and 126', respectively, extending along thetoothed (125 and 125') peripheries thereof, the rims 126 and 126' beinggraduated with numerals 124 and 124' from 0 up to 99, for example, atequal spacings. A window opening is positioned at an adequate peripheralportion of the case 110, and indexes 143 and 143' are marked at bothsides of this window 135.

Also on the periphery of the case 110 there is formed a tangentiallyprojecting portion 115 whose interior 116 is divided by means of theaforesaid partition 101. There are housed in the partitioned interior116 of the tangentially projecting portion 115 a pair of push buttons138 and 138 having their ends 1381: and 138a projecting outwardlytherefrom. Each of these push buttons 138 and 138' are energizedoutwardly by means different from that employed for the push button 38of the hereinfore described first preferred embodiment of the invention,i.e. by a helical spring 140 installed between the inside end of thepush button and a wall 116a defining the interior 116 of thetangentially projecting portion 115. Clicks 141 secured to the insideends of the push buttons 138 and 138' are caused to keep themselves inengagement with the respective teeth 125 and 125' of the annular dials123 and 123', and the backward rotation of these annular dials 123 and123' are prevented by means of stops 142 which may be served by flatsprings urged toward their teeth 125 and 125.

An opening 122 is formed at an adequate peripheral point of the case 110for resetting the annular dials 123 and 123' to zero in a mannerhereinafter to be described. A pair of toothed wheels 102 are supported,perhaps by one and the same shaft, at this opening 122 so as to be inmesh with the respective annular dials 123 and 123'. By manually turningthese toothed wheels 102 thedials 123 and 123 can be respectivelyzeroed. it is needless to say that exact counterparts of the circulardial 28 in the first preferred embodiment of the invention can beprovided as desired in respective combination with the annular dials 123and 123' in this second embodiment for counting a total of more than 200objects.

For use the push buttons 138 and 138' are to be depressed selectivelyaccording to two different sorts of objects to be counted, and theresults will be indicated at the window 135.

While the embodiments of the invention as herein disclosed constitutespreferred forms, it is to be understood that other forms might beadopted. For instance, the numerals graduated on the annular dial andthe circular dial may be rearranged as desired depending uponapplications. Further, three or more annular dials may be built in asingle case in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention toprovide a counter capable of counting three or more different sorts ofobjects. All these modifications are intended in the foregoingdisclosure. it is therefore appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A counter comprising, in combination:

a flat substantially circular case defining a hollow interior;

means defining a substantially semicircular opening through said case toreceive the fingers of a users hand;

a tangentially projecting portion disposed on the periphery of saidcase;

means defining a hole in said tangentially projecting portion in atangential direction of said case communicating with said hollowinterior of said case;

an inner wall disposed in said hollow interior defined by said caseconcentric with said means defining said semicircular opening in saidcase, said inner wall and an outer wall of said case defining an annularchamber therebetween;

a semicircular chamber defined by said inner wall and a straight edge ofsaid means defining said semicircular opening;

means defining an aperture in said inner wall;

a first rotary annular dial rotatably mounted and concentricallydisposed in said means defining said annular chamber;

ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of said first dial;

means defining an opening in said outer wall of said case to expose aportion of said ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of saidfirst dial;

a second rotary dial rotatably mounted in said semicircular chamberdefined by said inner wall and said straight edge of said means definingsaid semicircular opening;

a gear affixed to said second rotary dial;

a projection located on said first rotary dial projecting radiallytoward said second rotary dial;

a pinion positioned in said means defining said aperture in said innerwall, said pinion meshes with said gear affixed to said second rotarydial and is adapted to engage said projection;

a flat spring secured at one end to said case and having a V-shaped headat the opposite end disposed adjacent said gear affixed to said secondrotary dial, said V-shaped head being in engagement with said teeth ofsaid gear to prevent said second rotary dial from moving until acted onby a movement of said pinion;

means defining a window opening in said case aligned with said meansdefining said aperture in said inner wall, a portion of said first andsecond rotary dials being visible through said means defining saidwindow;

a push botton disposed in said means defining a hole in said tangentialportion;

means defining a slot extending longitudinally in said push button;

a projection affixed to said case and being received in said meansdefining said slot in said push button to regulate the movement of saidpush button;

resilient means housed in said means defining said slot in said pushbutton, one end of said resilient means abuts said projection to biassaid push button outwardly of said case;

a click affixed at one end to the end of said push button interior tosaid case, the other end of said click being adapted to engage saidratchet teeth of said first rotary dial; and

when said push button is depressed said click engages a tooth of saidratchet of said first rotary dial indexing said first rotary dialthrough a predetermined arch, once every revolution of said first rotarydial, said projection engages said pinion rotating said pinion and thusindexing said second rotary dial through a predetermined arch.

2. A counter as defined in claim 1, including stop means to prevent saidfirst rotary dial from rotating in a backward direction.

3. A counter as defined in claim 2, including:

numerals disposed on a face of said first annular rotary dial, thespacing of said numerals being equal to the pitch of said ratchet teethdisposed around the periphery of said first dial;

numerals disposed on a face of said secondrotary dial, the spacing ofsaid numerals being equal to the pitch of said ratchet teeth disposedaround the periphery of said first dial;

index means associated with said first annular rotary dial and saidsecond rotary dial, said index means distinguish one of said numerals onsaid first annular rotary dial and one of said numerals on said secondrotary dial which corresponds to the number of items counted; and

said numerals on said first annular rotary dial and said number on saidsecond rotary dial corresponding to the number of items counted arevisible through said means defining said window opening in said case.

4. A counter as defined in claim 3, wherein:

said second rotary dial is rotatably mounted on a shaft, and an end ofsaid shaft projects from a wall of said case; and

a knob is secured to said projecting end of said shaft toallow a user ofsaid counter to rotate said first annular rotary dial and said secondannular rotary dial to a zero reading at the start of a counting event.

5. A counter comprising, in combination:

a flat substantially circular case defining a hollow interior;

means defining a substantially semicircular opening through said caseadapted to receive a users hand;

a tangentially projecting portion disposed on the periphery of saidcase;

means defining a plurality of holes in said tangentially projectingportion in a tangential direction of said case communicating with saidhollow interior of said case;

an inner wall disposed in said hollow interior defined by said hollowcase concentric with said means defining said semicircular opening insaid case, said inner wall and an outer wall of said case defining anannular chamber therebetween;

a plurality of first annular rotary dials rotatably mounted in saidmeans defining said annular chamber;

ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of each of said annularrotary dials;

numerals disposed around the peripheries of said annular rotary dials,the spacing of said numerals being equal to the pitch of said ratchetteeth disposed around the periphery of said annular dials;

means defining a window opening in said case;

index means associated with said window, said index means distinguishone of said numerals on said periphery of each of: said annular rotarydials which number corresponds to the number of items counted;

said numerals on each of said annular rotary dials corresponding to thenumber of items counted is visible through said means defining saidopening in said case;

a plurality of push buttons disposed in said means defining saidplurality of holes in said tangential portion of said case, the numberof push buttons corresponding to the number of annular rotary dialscomprising said counter;

each of said push buttons have a click which engages the teeth disposedaround the periphery of one of said rotary dials;

a plurality of springs corresponding in number to the number of pushbuttons, each of said springs being operatively associated with one ofsaid push buttons to bias said push buttons outwardly of said case; anda stop means associated with each of said rotary dials to prevent saidrotary dials from rotating in a backward direction.

6. A counter as defined in claim 5, including:

means defining an opening in an outer wall of said case;

a plurality of toothed wheels corresponding in number to the number ofsaid annular rotary dials, said toothed wheels being disposed inparallel arrangement and rotatably mounted in said means defining saidopening in the outer wall of said case, said toothed wheels being inmesh with said ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of saidannular dials; and

said toothed wheels allow a user of said counter to rotate said annularrotary dials to a zero reading at the start of a counting event.

1. A counter comprising, in combination: a flat substantially circularcase defining a hollow interior; means defining a substantiallysemicircular opening through said case to receive the fingers of auser''s hand; a tangentially projecting portion disposed on theperiPhery of said case; means defining a hole in said tangentiallyprojecting portion in a tangential direction of said case communicatingwith said hollow interior of said case; an inner wall disposed in saidhollow interior defined by said case concentric with said means definingsaid semicircular opening in said case, said inner wall and an outerwall of said case defining an annular chamber therebetween; asemicircular chamber defined by said inner wall and a straight edge ofsaid means defining said semicircular opening; means defining anaperture in said inner wall; a first rotary annular dial rotatablymounted and concentrically disposed in said means defining said annularchamber; ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of said first dial;means defining an opening in said outer wall of said case to expose aportion of said ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of saidfirst dial; a second rotary dial rotatably mounted in said semicircularchamber defined by said inner wall and said straight edge of said meansdefining said semicircular opening; a gear affixed to said second rotarydial; a projection located on said first rotary dial projecting radiallytoward said second rotary dial; a pinion positioned in said meansdefining said aperture in said inner wall, said pinion meshes with saidgear affixed to said second rotary dial and is adapted to engage saidprojection; a flat spring secured at one end to said case and having aV-shaped head at the opposite end disposed adjacent said gear affixed tosaid second rotary dial, said V-shaped head being in engagement withsaid teeth of said gear to prevent said second rotary dial from movinguntil acted on by a movement of said pinion; means defining a windowopening in said case aligned with said means defining said aperture insaid inner wall, a portion of said first and second rotary dials beingvisible through said means defining said window; a push botton disposedin said means defining a hole in said tangential portion; means defininga slot extending longitudinally in said push button; a projectionaffixed to said case and being received in said means defining said slotin said push button to regulate the movement of said push button;resilient means housed in said means defining said slot in said pushbutton, one end of said resilient means abuts said projection to biassaid push button outwardly of said case; a click affixed at one end tothe end of said push button interior to said case, the other end of saidclick being adapted to engage said ratchet teeth of said first rotarydial; and when said push button is depressed said click engages a toothof said ratchet of said first rotary dial indexing said first rotarydial through a predetermined arch, once every revolution of said firstrotary dial, said projection engages said pinion rotating said pinionand thus indexing said second rotary dial through a predeterminedarch.
 1. A counter comprising, in combination: a flat substantiallycircular case defining a hollow interior; means defining a substantiallysemicircular opening through said case to receive the fingers of auser''s hand; a tangentially projecting portion disposed on theperiPhery of said case; means defining a hole in said tangentiallyprojecting portion in a tangential direction of said case communicatingwith said hollow interior of said case; an inner wall disposed in saidhollow interior defined by said case concentric with said means definingsaid semicircular opening in said case, said inner wall and an outerwall of said case defining an annular chamber therebetween; asemicircular chamber defined by said inner wall and a straight edge ofsaid means defining said semicircular opening; means defining anaperture in said inner wall; a first rotary annular dial rotatablymounted and concentrically disposed in said means defining said annularchamber; ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of said first dial;means defining an opening in said outer wall of said case to expose aportion of said ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of saidfirst dial; a second rotary dial rotatably mounted in said semicircularchamber defined by said inner wall and said straight edge of said meansdefining said semicircular opening; a gear affixed to said second rotarydial; a projection located on said first rotary dial projecting radiallytoward said second rotary dial; a pinion positioned in said meansdefining said aperture in said inner wall, said pinion meshes with saidgear affixed to said second rotary dial and is adapted to engage saidprojection; a flat spring secured at one end to said case and having aVshaped head at the opposite end disposed adjacent said gear affixed tosaid second rotary dial, said V-shaped head being in engagement withsaid teeth of said gear to prevent said second rotary dial from movinguntil acted on by a movement of said pinion; means defining a windowopening in said case aligned with said means defining said aperture insaid inner wall, a portion of said first and second rotary dials beingvisible through said means defining said window; a push botton disposedin said means defining a hole in said tangential portion; means defininga slot extending longitudinally in said push button; a projectionaffixed to said case and being received in said means defining said slotin said push button to regulate the movement of said push button;resilient means housed in said means defining said slot in said pushbutton, one end of said resilient means abuts said projection to biassaid push button outwardly of said case; a click affixed at one end tothe end of said push button interior to said case, the other end of saidclick being adapted to engage said ratchet teeth of said first rotarydial; and when said push button is depressed said click engages a toothof said ratchet of said first rotary dial indexing said first rotarydial through a predetermined arch, once every revolution of said firstrotary dial, said projection engages said pinion rotating said pinionand thus indexing said second rotary dial through a predetermined arch.2. A counter as defined in claim 1, including stop means to prevent saidfirst rotary dial from rotating in a backward direction.
 3. A counter asdefined in claim 2, including: numerals disposed on a face of said firstannular rotary dial, the spacing of said numerals being equal to thepitch of said ratchet teeth disposed around the periphery of said firstdial; numerals disposed on a face of said second rotary dial, thespacing of said numerals being equal to the pitch of said ratchet teethdisposed around the periphery of said first dial; index means associatedwith said first annular rotary dial and said second rotary dial, saidindex means distinguish one of said numerals on said first annularrotary dial and one of said numerals on said second rotary dial whichcorresponds to the number of items counted; and said numerals on saidfirst annular rotary dial and said number on said second rotary dialcorresponding to the number of items counted are visible through saiDmeans defining said window opening in said case.
 4. A counter as definedin claim 3, wherein: said second rotary dial is rotatably mounted on ashaft, and an end of said shaft projects from a wall of said case; and aknob is secured to said projecting end of said shaft to allow a user ofsaid counter to rotate said first annular rotary dial and said secondannular rotary dial to a zero reading at the start of a counting event.5. A counter comprising, in combination: a flat substantially circularcase defining a hollow interior; means defining a substantiallysemicircular opening through said case adapted to receive a user''shand; a tangentially projecting portion disposed on the periphery ofsaid case; means defining a plurality of holes in said tangentiallyprojecting portion in a tangential direction of said case communicatingwith said hollow interior of said case; an inner wall disposed in saidhollow interior defined by said hollow case concentric with said meansdefining said semicircular opening in said case, said inner wall and anouter wall of said case defining an annular chamber therebetween; aplurality of first annular rotary dials rotatably mounted in said meansdefining said annular chamber; ratchet teeth disposed around theperiphery of each of said annular rotary dials; numerals disposed aroundthe peripheries of said annular rotary dials, the spacing of saidnumerals being equal to the pitch of said ratchet teeth disposed aroundthe periphery of said annular dials; means defining a window opening insaid case; index means associated with said window, said index meansdistinguish one of said numerals on said periphery of each of saidannular rotary dials which number corresponds to the number of itemscounted; said numerals on each of said annular rotary dialscorresponding to the number of items counted is visible through saidmeans defining said opening in said case; a plurality of push buttonsdisposed in said means defining said plurality of holes in saidtangential portion of said case, the number of push buttonscorresponding to the number of annular rotary dials comprising saidcounter; each of said push buttons have a click which engages the teethdisposed around the periphery of one of said rotary dials; a pluralityof springs corresponding in number to the number of push buttons, eachof said springs being operatively associated with one of said pushbuttons to bias said push buttons outwardly of said case; and stop meansassociated with each of said rotary dials to prevent said rotary dialsfrom rotating in a backward direction.